An Overview of Urban Self-Help Organizations

Abstract

The self-help literature is almost half a century old, attesting to its longevity, and reviewing this literature is beyond the scope of this book. Its evolution now encompasses urban gun violence, introducing a new need and geographic context. Although gun violence does not have to have heavy racial overlays, in this instance, it does, making it significantly different from its predecessors, which ostensibly were a-racial and non-urban specific. It brings a geographical setting that historically was not emphasized by previous self-help movements. This chapter introduces readers to this field and how gun violence represents the latest evolution of the self-help movement.